Evil Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Seems like someone forgot to pay a bill over at Nuance software, the maker of OmniPage and PaperPort family of software and Dragon Naturally Speaking family of software, among others. It serves Nuance right to be embarrassed about this. Nuance’s draconian use of DRM and FUD has found a match in PersitsSoftware, Inc.

The bill Nuance forgot to pay – or failed to activate – is for the software Nuance uses to powers their contact forms for technical support, customer service, and so on. When a Persits’ bill goes unpaid, Persits blocks the submission form and gives this error message to their client’s customer:

Ouch! How embarrassing is that! (Which, I suppose, is the point). At the time of the original writing, this is what customers saw when they needed support. Someone better hope that Nuance isn’t looking to lay off workers in the near future.

Nuance claims “Today most software installed on new computer hardware requires activation” which is an outright lie and a great example of the FUD – Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt – that many customer-unfriendly companies use to scare or lock in customers. So it serves Nuance right to be fed some of the very public medicine it thrusts down the throat of its well-paying customers.